Thailand : January 18 - February 16 : Koh Samui

24. January

Arriving while the island was still asleep

 

The Spa Samui was full. How about that? With on site yoga classes, two bodywork platforms, organic restaurant with home baked whole grain bread and special cleansing retreats, I thought I might have been in 7th heaven. But alas we were too late. Luckily the budget option, New Huts, was but a short distance down the road and they provided shelter – a bungalow steps from the beach for US$12.

 

We slept half the day away, once we stumbled to our little beach bungalow, but I guess that is acceptable behavior for being at the beach. We collected our laundry for cleaning, I explored opportunities for yoga,  I indulged in a fantastic Thai massage on the beach, we ate with the sounds of lapping waves in the background. I was cultivating my courage to commit to getting my diving certification: I was swinging between yes and no every few moments. Patrick was diligently looking for another opportunity to practice kite-surfing, not ever finding the right situation. We ended our evenings with decadent mindlessness: movie watching on our little computer in our little beach bungalow. Travelling is really tough!

25. January

Koh Samui Island exploration

 

I slipped into a morning yoga class at the Samui Spa and afterwards rejoined Patrick at the hotel for breakfast and a dip in the sea. Patrick managed to swim 1km in the ocean, while I lovingly watched from the warmth of the shore. The rest of the day was spent exploring the few cultural components of the island via scooter. We climbed to te giant Buddha, got caught in a torrential rain storm and explored the interior of the island, which always shows a more authentic view of life. All by little motor scooter. We should call this trip “Travel by scooter” – it seems to be the best, fastest and easiest way to get around. Maybe we were the only ones actually wearing helmets – I felt rather lame but when we came across a motorcycle accident a few moments after it happened, I was flooded with appreciation for the stinky piece of plastic on my head.

 

Today’s highlight was catching up with my mom on her birthday – actually being the first person to wish her well. There is so much joy and happiness that one phone call can make – we forget that with the ease of cell phones. I was reminded and I was so glad to take as much time as I needed to hear her voice over the computer headset.


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26. January

 

While we were sleeping in a hut on the beach, back home the world welcomed...

 

 

 

Charles ("Charlie") Bruce Knickerbocker

 

 

saturday, january 26, 2008

at 12:47 am

 

 

8 lbs. 6 ozs    20.5 inches

 

 

 

kate & aron knickerbocker

and

 

 

 

 

sasha joelle lewandowski

 

 

 

born january 26, 2008

 

 

 

karen & aron lewandowski

26. January

 

It was time to leave Ko Samui, especially after the disappointment in not being able to get some more kite-surfing under my belt. We got picked up at the New Hut hotel and driven to the pier to climb on a very modern boat (nothing to compare to the "Seelenverkaufer" of that night ferry we took to this island.) It was pretty rough sees with the wind blowing hard onto the starboard side of the ship making it appear as if it was listing in heavy sees, enough to make a sea novice with land legs quite a bit nervous but rest assured we were never in no danger and after a short stop at Ko Pha-Ngan, we were in less than 3 hours travel time at the pier in Ko Tao.

next: Koh Tao